Old Friends, New Loves
by MarshalMallow
Summary: Maka is struggling with his emotions as he starts to question his sexuality, causing Him and Soul to fall out. One-off fic featuring Genderbent Maka. Rated 'T' for 4 instances of swearing


_This mini-fic contains a few headcanons I have of a genderbent Maka. He's British and is very well-spoken, as well as being a metalhead, so he dresses almost gothic. The idea for this fic came from a selection of roleplays I have been involved in recently including one that I performed with myself (Sad, I know). I hope you enjoy it, I had fun writing it. I apologise for any spelling errors. The spellcheck on my Libre Office is broken and only recognises grammatical errors. If you find any, please let me know by PM. Thank you._

Sitting on his bed, Maka stared blankly out of his open window. The crisp evening air blew gently into the room and played with the notes on Maka's desk along with his shaggy hair. Bringing his knees into his chest, he hugged them tightly and rested his head on them. Thoughts and feelings danced in his head as he unsuccessfully attempted to pull them into order. This mind settling technique usually worked, but these feelings just wouldn't stop. If he was right about himself, it changed everything he knew about his own mind. His head still swimming with thoughts, he closed the open window and lay in bed, hoping for sleep to come soon.

The sun rising the next morning, Maka watched the sunlight play with the dust by the window. He had dark circles underneath his red, irritated eyes and his hair stuck up in odd places. Groaning as he forced himself upright, he rubbed his left eye with the palm of his hand before running it through his hair and scratching the back of his head. Glancing at the clock, he registered the time on it's face, sighing as he took in the numbers he was presented with.

_06:27am_

Maka mulled over his choices as he stretched his arms out to his sides. Was it really worth trying to sleep for another hour? Most likely, it would make him feel worse. Slowly and groggily making a decision, he threw his covers off and crept his way to the kitchen, careful not to wake up Soul, who was probably still asleep. Wishing for the kettle to remain quiet, he flicked it on and grabbed a mug before spooning coffee into it. The kettle hissed and bubbled, but not loud anough to wake anyone. Or so Maka thought anyway.

The black cat's ears pricked up and she lifted her head at the sound of the boiling water. Leaving her place by Soul's bed, she prowled to the door and muttered a spell before the door silently opened. She closed it behind her as she made it through, again, silently. The only light she could see was the dim red light of the kettle switch, which turned off with a click. Stalking around the furniture of the living room, she kept her body low as she rounded the couch. As she witnessed the figure making coffee, her stance relaxed and she cheerfully plodded over to the coffee making meister. Keeping her voice low, Blair the cat-witch spoke up.

"Hey, what are you doing up this early?" she asked as she gracefully lept onto the counter behind Maka.

Nearly spilling the water as he jumped at the noise, Maka barely managed to stop himself letting out a surprised yelp. Spinning around, he cast his eyes over the cat on the counter and let his shoulders sag.

"Oh" he breathed softly "It's you. You made me jump Blair. Nearly spilled water over the counter. What are you doing up this early?". The cat looked at him sarcastically and raised an eyebrow.

"I could ask you the same thing, mister". As Blair lept from the counter to the floor, Maka felt the air pressure in the room change as a dim purple light shone from the floor. Blair straightened up and flicked her hair back with her hand. She shivered slightly as the tingle of the tranformation spell wore off. She had always liked that feeling. Taking a step over to Maka, she watched curiously as he poured water into his mug.

"I couldn't sleep" he uttered, although through the raspiness of his voice, Blair could tell that already. "Had stuff on my mind".

The pair sat in silence on the couch as the sun slowly rose higher. Before they realised how much time had passed, or how cold Maka's coffee had become, a beeping noise came from Soul's bedroom. Realising that it was Soul's alarm, Maka placed his coffee on the table and quickly retreated to his room. He wanted to avoid Soul at all costs at the moment, he really didn't want a confrontation. Through the door, he heard Soul open his door and greet Blair. Staying in his room until Soul left, Maka opened the door a crack and peered through. Blair was walking over from the couch with a concerned look on her face.

"You're really not alright are you?" she cooed. She'd never seen him act this way before. Maka shook his head as he opened the door and walked over to his bed before flopping onto it ungracefully. Blair sat next to him and placed a hand onto his back.

"If you don't want to talk about it, I'll leave you alone, but if you do, I'll be around the apartment.". Maka nodded into his pillow and let out an exasperated sigh into the bedding. Blair stood up and meowed quietly before emitting the same purple light as earlier. The black cat left the room and left Maka to himself.

Eventually, Maka managed to gain enough motivation to get dressed, and headed out, donning his black leather tranch coat as he walked through the front door. He slipped it on over his black work-shirt as he strode through his apartment corridor, his grey tie hanging loosely from his collar. The weather outside was overcast and chill. People in the streets scurried from place to place hugging themselves to counteract the cold breeze that blew through the streets, icy clouds forming as breath was taken away from them. Maka didn't mind. He liked the cold, and the atmosphere it brought with it. Pulling his coat tighter, he made his way to the docks. He knew he could sit and think undisturbed there. Something he scarcely found anywhere else. As he walked throught the almost empty streets of Death City, his mind focused and his thoughts became clearer for the first time. But he didn't dwell on it yet, instead he held back the thoughts until he arrived at the docks and found a suitable spot at the end of a long jetty. Sitting down, he hung his legs over the edge, the soles of his boots just barely skimming the water.

It was only then that he allowed the thoughts back into his head. But this time he kept control and arranged them in his mind in a way he could understand them. First, there was the boy. Alex was his name. He was in town for a few days sightseeing. He wasn't from around here, so he asked Maka to guide him around. Second was the fact that they got on so well. The conversations didn't end, and even when they weren't taling, the silence was comfortable. Third was the pain he felt when he left. After he had these thoughts. He let them flood his mind. Using every available space available to him to think. After five minutes, he let out a sigh and looked across the water. There were chunks of ice floating in the water, sending sparkles of light shining whenever the clouds parted briefly.

Soul walked past the scurrying people and hugged his chest as he shivered. If he had known it would have been this cold he would have worn another 3 shirts under his jacket. Looking up at the cloudy sky, he wondered if Maka was okay. He wasn't in any of Soul's lessons today, and he usually didn't miss any at all. Soul stopped and thought for a moment, resting his back against a nearby wall and watched his breath curl upwards in the icy cloud it formed around it.

"Where would you go..." he said quietly out-loud to himself. He ran through a mental list of quiet and sheltered places and eventually pushed off from the wall, making his way towards the docks.

Maka still sat on the end of the jetty. Sighing heavily again, he looked up at the clouds as if to ask them for help. Closing his eyes, he reflected on his time with Alex and let the happiness flow through him once again. Hearing footsteps on the wooden planks of the jetty, Maka jumped up and turned on his heel to look at the approacher. After seeing Soul taking his usual cocky strides towards him, he loosened up slightly and scratched the back of his head.

"Hey" he managed as the scythe drew closer.

"Hey, wassup? You weren't in class today. Nerd like you never misses a lesson so I know somethin's up" Soul asked bluntly. His face didn't wear his usual cocky smirk, but an expression of slight worry. Maka looked down at his boots and shrugged.

"I miss Alex. A lot"

Even just by admitting this, he felt a weight lift from his mind. He wondered if Soul had figured out just how much he had missed the boy. They had exchanged phone numbers, but Maka hadn't received anything and didn't have the courage to contact Alex himself. Soul tilted his head quizzically.

"That's that kid you were showing 'round town last week, right?" he asked, a cloud of icy air leaving his mouth as he spoke. "Why are you so caught up about it? You have his number, just call 'em". Maka tensed up for a reason he didn't quite understand. His hands balled into fists and his head tilted forwards, hiding his eyes behind his fringe.

"It isn't that simple" he responded "I don't know what I'm feeling about it yet, and until I do, I'm not going to call". Soul's smirk grew back and he chuckled slightly

"Feeling? What'd'ya mean? Are you gay or something?". Soul's words hung in the cold air for a moment before Maka reacted. He pulled his elbow back and his fist up. Stepping towards Soul, he brought his fist into his jaw hard. Soul stumbled back and brought a hand to his cheek.

"You think it's funny do you? Do you think it's fucking funny?" Maka shouted, barely controling himself from hitting Soul again. Rage tore through him and his mind clouded over. He swung another punch at Soul, but this time he met a blocking blow followed to a hit to the stomach. Staggering backwards, he grunted and held the spot Soul's fist had connected to. The pair stood in silence before Soul let out a moan of pain.

"You didn't have to fuckin' hit me, you dick!" he yelled at the meister. The throbbing in his cheek grew louder in his ears and the wound began to sting. "I was joking! What the hell is wrong with... fuck" he held his cheek with one hand while he rested on his knee with the other. The pain was beginning to grow unbearable. He looked up at Maka one last time before turning and walking away from his partner. Maka watchined him leave before grasping his stomach and falling to his knees. Tears flowed from his eyes as the reality of what just happened hit home. He didn't want to accept it, but he knew he must. He stayed in this position until the pain subsided and he could stand. Mentally cursing himself. He walked back along the jetty and set out for the apartment. He only hoped that Soul wasn't there when he got there.

Kid sat in his armchair and admired the symmetry of his fireplace. He took a sip from his coffee and closed his eyes. Relaxing into his chair, he had almost nodded off when a loud knock came from the hallway. He heard the door open and Liz spoke. Becoming curious, he heard the door close once again, followed by footsteps coming towards Kid's living room. As he stood from his chair, Soul entered the room. He had a large red swell on his cheek. It looked painful.

"What the hell happened to your symmet~ I mean, your face?" Kid asked with a sense of shock behind his voice. Soul winced at the mention of his wound and brought his hand back up to rub it.

"Maka punched me" he mumbled, only barely audible. Kid could see that it wasn't just Soul's face that had taken a hit, his pride was hurt too. Walking over to the weapon, he gingerly touched the affected area, causing Soul to breathe in sharply through his teeth and withdraw.

"Here, let me get you an ice pack for that" Kid voiced before quickly making his way into his kitchen. Soul looked around at the immaculacy of the room he was in. Everything was symmetrical, even the candles were melting in a symmetrical fashion. Soul wondered how the hell Kid had managed to make them do that. Before he could think about it too much, Kid returned with a blue ice-pack. Soul took it from him and forcefully slapped it onto his face. Letting out a relieved moan as the throbbing subsided. He flopped into a nearby armchair and watched as Kid took the chair that matched the symmetry of the room. Soul chuckled to himself at the reaper's behaviour. He made a mental note to move something before he left. Just to wind him up.

"So." Kid piped up "Why did Maka, your partner and best friend, feel the need to bring his fist into forceful contact with your face?"

"You mean why did he punch me?"

"That is what I said" Kid replied shortly. Soul carefully took the ice-pack from his face and explained what happened between the pair. Kid rested his head on the tips of his fingers as he listened intently, forming his opinion and trying to come up with a solution.

"And that's why he hit me" Soul finished as he returned the ice-pack to it's former place on his cheek.

After some careful thought into the situation, Kid voiced his opinion of what Soul should do to resolve the situation between the two of them. Kid knew that Maka could be very stubborn when he wanted to be, and this seemed like a case where that would ring true.

"You're going to have to apologise, Soul. Otherwise it will affect your partnership on a much deeper level". Soul took in Kid's suggestion and hung his head as he muttered an agreement. He couldn't afford to lose Maka as a partner, especially since they were so close to turning him into a death scythe. Swallowing his pride, Soul stood up from the chair. Looking in a nearby mirror, he checked the swelling of his cheek. It was now barely there, but a slight bruise was forming. He frowned as he turned and walked over to Kid. Giving the ice-pack back, he thanked Kid and left. On his way out of the room, he made sure Kid had left before moving a vase an inch to the left. Chuckling, he made his way out of Gallows Mansion. As the large doors closed behind him, he heard Kid yell.

"Soul I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill you as soon I sort out this atrocity you have made! Do you hear me?". Laughing to himself, he made a brisk walk down the path of the mansion and made his way back to the apartment, building an apology in his mind.

Blair sat next to Maka on his bed, holding his arm tightly as she listened. Maka had a phone in his hand and a nervousness to his posture. He sat stiff on his mattress and breathed unevenly. It had only been ringing for around 30 seconds, but to Maka, it felt like an eternity. Suddenly, the ringing stopped and the sound of fingers fumbling came through the speaker.

"Hello?" came the voice from the other end of the call. Maka hesitated and fumbled for words before eventually managing to blurt out

"Hi! Alex?.. erm I don't know if you... if you remember me... But I showed you around Death City? I'm Maka". He closed his eyes as he waited for a response. The boy on the other side of the phone let out a strange noise between a gasp and a squeak.

"Maka? Oh my God! Hi! It's been months dude! How've you been?". Maka's face lit up with the response. He turned his head to Blair and grinned. His free arm waved around and pointed to the phone in his hand.

"I know what you're doing silly! Talk to him! Go on!" Blair whispered as she gestured to the phone.

"Uh, yeah not too much really, I actually wanted to ask you something. Like er. Did you want to hang out sometime? Maybe get some coffee or some lunch... Maybe." Maka mentally kicked himself for stammering so much. He crossed his fingers as we awaited Alex's response.

"That sounds great dude! I'm actually planning another trip to DC next week, I can bring it forward no problem. That is, if you don't mind?". Maka struggled to remain calm, however his voice still squeaked in reply.

"Do I mind? Of course I don't. I've really missed you" Maka confessed. "Really _really_ missed you".

"Yeah I've really missed you too buddy" Alex replied. Maka thought he heard a smile in his voice. The pair confirmed their plans and said their goodbyes before hanging up. Grinning like an idiot, Maka fell backwards onto his bed. He didn't know what feeling he was experiencing, but he didn't care much right now. He just revelled in it as Blair pounced on his stomach. His grin faded slightly as the pain from Soul's punch shot through him again. But even that couldn't put a dampener on his mood.

Soul approached the apartment almost cautiously. Trying to be as quiet as possible, he slowly slid his key into the lock, turning it just as tediously. His attempt at stealth did nothing to mask his appearance in the hallway, as Maka exited the kitchen as he entered. Maka stood blank faced, still holding onto the pocky stick that was in his mouth. Blair prowled inbetween them and looked from one to the other. The frozen expressions on their faces providing her with some amusement. As the silence went on, Blair coughed quietly. Maka jumped slightly at the noise and snapped his pocky stick. He quickly chewed and swallowed before speaking up. However the cough had also brought Soul out of his frozen state. A simultaneous chime rang from the pair as they both apologised for their actions. Shocked at the syncronisation they had achieved, the both let out a small laugh and smiled at each other. Blair meowed loudly and plodded back to the couch happily.

"I'm sorry I hit you so hard mate. I just... I had so much..." Maka stammered slowly

"Hey" interrupted Soul, "Don't worry about it. I should have just kept my mouth shut and let you come to your own conclusion." The pair shared one last smile before joining Blair on the couch.

"So, have you called him yet?" Soul asked gingerly.

"Actually, yes. I have" Maka smiled at Soul and giggled, which he attempted to turn into a cough, but Soul had still noticed. He said nothing however, not wanting to start another argument.

"He's coming round this weekend" Maka grinned. Soul smiled and patted Maka on the shoulder.

As the pair began chatting and being their usual selves around each other, their conversation was interupted by a very loud knock on the door.

"Soul? Open up! I straightened up my fireplace and it's fine now but I'm still going to kill you!" Kid yelled through the door. Maka raised an eyebrow at Soul.

"You didn't" he stated. Soul said nothing, but instead grinned and headed towards the nearest window. Opening it, he slid out before whispering

"You didn't see me. Okay?". Maka nodded and supressed a laugh as Soul disappeared from view. Kid burst through the door and looked at Maka. His face was twisted with rage and Maka could almost see steam shooting from his ears.

"Where is he?" Kid bellowed as he stomped over to Maka.

"Window" Maka said as he pointed in the direction of the open pane.

"You lying fuck!" Came Soul's voice from the street. Maka only laughed as Kid barrelled out of the window in pursuit.

Blair looked over the events as they happened, shaking her head and licking her paw as people exited through windows and burst through doors.

"So he's still not completely forgiven then?" Blair asked Maka

"Not quite no" he smiled.


End file.
